Impacts of golf courses on macroinvertebrate community structure in Precambrian shield streams

The influence of golf course operation on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Precambrian Shield streams was evaluated using rapid bioassessment and the reference condition approach. Streams were sampled for water chemistry and invertebrates in 1999 and 2000, six on operational golf courses, and seven in forested reference locations. Correspondence analysis (CA) was used to determine the major patterns in the macroinvertebrate taxa, and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to evaluate relationships with environmental variables. The reference streams were used to define the normal range of variation for a variety of summary indices to evaluate the golf course streams. In all cases, golf course streams were higher in nutrients and dissolved ions and more alkaline than the forested reference streams. There was considerable variability in the macroinvertebrate fauna from the golf course streams, which was related to differences in golf course land management practices and to the potential influence of highway runoff. Of the management practices evaluated, fertilizer application rates in particular were important, as was the presence of ponds upstream on the course. Invertebrate taxa with higher abundances in golf course streams included Turbellaria, Isopoda, Amphipoda, Zygoptera, and Trombidiformes. Taxa more common in the reference streams included Ephemeroptera, Megaloptera, Culicidae, and Plecoptera. There were marked differences in the overall benthic macroinvertebrate community in three of the six golf course streams studied relative to the forested reference streams, suggesting that golf course land management on the Precambrian Shield can be associated with significant differences in macroinvertebrate community structure.     

Policy uses of particulate exposure estimates

This paper reviews the uses of particulate exposure estimates for science and policy. We propose a set of normative factors to guide the selection and application of various approaches for exposure assessment. For exposure estimates intended for use in support of the development or air pollution regulations or selection of control strategies, the proposed criteria include--compatibility with policy scope and scale, cost-effectiveness, characterization of uncertainty, political and institutional feasibility, and sensitivity to framing. For exposure assessment in support of epidemiological research, key criteria are-compatability with the specific hypothesis being tested, and compatibility with the temporal and spatial scale of analysis. The various major approaches for estimation of exposure--direct and indirect measurement, empirical and physical modeling--are catalogued and compared with these proposed criteria.     

Shellfish Conflict in Baynes Sound: A Strategic Perspective

The shellfish aquaculture industry (SAI) has operated in Baynes Sound, British Columbia (BC) since the early 1900s. Recognizing the economic potential of the area, the industry has requested additional farming opportunities. However, Baynes Sound upland residents and many other stakeholders have expressed concerns that SAI activities are having a negative impact on the environment, quality of life, and other nonaquaculture resource uses in the area. In order to address these issues, the Action Plan was initiated by a BC government interagency project team in November 2001. To assist in assessing the strategic aspects of this conflict, the decision support system GMCR II is employed here to apply a new methodology, the graph model for conflict resolution, to systematically analyze the ongoing conflict over shellfish aquaculture development in Baynes Sound within a social, economic, and environmental framework. Valuable insights are procured to guide decision-makers toward sustainability of the shellfish industry.     

Grassland Management Activity Data: Current Sources and Future Needs

Estimates of potential and actual C sequestration require areal information about various types of management activities. Forest surveys, land use data, and agricultural statistics contribute information enabling calculation of the impacts of current and historical land management on C sequestration in biomass (in forests) or in soil (in agricultural systems). Unfortunately little information exists on the distribution of various management activities that can impact soil C content in grassland systems. Limited information of this type restricts our ability to carry out bottom-up estimates of the current C balance of grasslands or to assess the potential for grasslands to act as C sinks with changes in management. Here we review currently available information about grassland management, how that information could be related to information about the impacts of management on soil C stocks, information that may be available in the future, and needs that remain to be filled before in-depth assessments may be carried out. We also evaluate constraints induced by variability in information sources within and between countries.It is readily apparent that activity data for grassland management is collected less frequently and on a coarser scale than data for forest or agricultural inventories and that grassland activity data cannot be directly translated into IPCC-type factors as is done for IPCC inventories of agricultural soils. However, those management data that are available can serve to delineate broad-scale differences in management activities within regions in which soil C is likely to change in response to changes in management. This, coupled with the distinct possibility of more intensive surveys planned in the future, may enable more accurate assessments of grassland C dynamics with higher resolution both spatially and in the number management activities.     

Book reviews

What Time is This Place?

Kevin Lynch

The MIT Press, Cambridge and London, England 1972, VIII and 277 pp, $5.95.

Planning and Profit in the Urban Economy

T. A. Broadbent (1977)

London: Methuen & Co.

"Sociology in Planning: a redefinition"

G. McDougall, J. Foulsham and J. Porter.

S.I.P. Paper No. 3, 1977, 27pp. Price 50p. Published by the organisation of Sociologists in Polytechnics and Cognate Institutions.

"Urban Freight Transport: problems and some possible solutions"

Alan R. Boyland

Working Papjer No. 26, Oxford Polytechnic Department of Town Planning.

A Critique of Urban Modelling

R. A. Sayer

Progress in Planning Series, edited by D. Diamond and J. B. McLoughlin, Volume 6, Part 3.

The Communications Factor in Office Decentralisation

J. B. Goddard and D. Morris

Progress in Planning Series edited by D. Diamond and J. M. McLoughlin, Vol. 6, Part 1.

Spatial Population Analysis

P. H. Rees and A. G. Wilson

Arnold, London, 1977. £27.50.

The Design Guidance Survey

Llewelyn‐Davies, Weeks, Forestier‐Walker and Bor. London 1976.     

REDUCING THE RISK OF FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTERS: A BIOECONOMIC APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT1

Abstract: Recognition is growing that fisheries must be both ecologically and commercially sustainable. The bioeconomic models proposed herein constitute an analytic framework capable of integrating the ethics and Societal values associated with fisheries preservation. Specifically, we focus on the normalized optimal (equilibrium) fish population, z*, a dimensionless variable representing biomass as a proportion of environmental capacity. We model z* as a function of (a) the dimensionless "bionomic growth ratio", γ, which is the ratio of the discount rate to the intrinsic population growth rate, and (b) the preservation coefficient, Ω, which is the ratio of the preservation value (a measure of Society's value for the stock) to price, assuming that the population growth rate and intrinsic growth rate are fixed. It is shown that increasing Ω significantly impacts z*, particularly for moderate values of γ (2 γ 4). Finally, stochastic population models are used to analyze the risk of a fish stock collapse due to harvesting pressures. The bioeconomic models and simulations herein described improve the accuracy and reliability of maximum sustainable yield management.     

THE IMPACT OF FLOODPLAIN REGULATIONS ON RESIDENTIAL LAND VALUES IN OREGON1

ABSTRACT: The impact of floodplain regulations on mean appreciation rates of residential land values was tested at six study areas in five counties in western Oregon. The study hypothesis that such regulations significantly depress appreciation rates of regulated lands relative to those of similar unregulated lands was in most cases rejected. When the hypothesis was accepted circumstances would render conclusions tenuous. The problems and issues facing this type of research are presented in case studies of two of the research study areas. The following factors challenge investigators seeking to resolve questions about the relationship between land use regulations and land values: varying degrees of stringency with which regulations are enforced; unequal assessment procedures between counties; influences external to floodplain regulations that may affect appreciation rates, including denial of permits for septic tanks, flood damages, and amenity values associated with waterfront locations; and the uncertain effect that the availability of flood insurance, which accompanies floodplain regulations, has on land values.     

Forest-user attitudes toward alternative fire management policies

The formulation and implementation of new fire policies in the national forests depend upon public acceptance. A national survey of organized groups of forest users indicates that, contrary to the concern of many forest managers, considerable support exists for flexible fire suppression policies. Forest users are also willing to accept the risk associated with the manager's use of prescribed fire. However, important intergroup differences do exist. Such variation is discussed in relation to a number of socioeconomic variables, general fire knowledge, specific knowledge about the effects of low-intensity fires, and risk preference levels.